WEBVTT
E ON
HILTON HEAD.
3
LL: CREWS SAY OVER ONE MILLION
CUBIC YARDS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT
INTO THIS FACILITY, AND EVEN
WITH ALL OF THIS THEY SAY
THEY'RE ONLY HALF WAY DONE.
áááNATSáááTRUCK AFTER TRUCK
FILLED WITH DEBRIS...
COMING...AND GOING.IT HAS TO
BE PROCESSED VERY QUICKLY AND
MOVE OUT QUICKLY.THE PRIVATE
CONTRACTOR HIRED BY THE TOWN
OF HILTON HEAD IS WORKING
NONSTOP.CREWS ARE GETTING
DEBRIS OFF THE ROADS, GRINDING
IT DOWN, THEN HAULING IT OFF
THE ISLAND.IT'S ALL A PART OF
A HURRICANE PLAN THAT'S BEEN
IN PLACE FOR MORE THAN TEN
YEARS - BUT áTHIS IS ITS FIRST
USE.AND WE GOT EVERYTHING IN
PLACE JUST FOR AN EVENT LIKE
THIS.TOWN MANAGER STEVE RILEY
SAYS THE BEST PART HAS BEEN
HAVING THAT CONTRACTOR IN
PLACE.BUT - THE PLAN IS
SHOWING SOME WEAK SPOTS.THAT
INCLUDES THE STRAIN IT'S
PUTTING ON THE COASTAL
DISCOVERY MUSEUM.IT SHARES
THAT LAND, THAT'S NOW COVERED
IN STUMPS AND WOOD CHIPS.YOU
KNOW, THEY'RE CERTAINLY GOING
TO LOSE A LOT OF REVENUE, IT'S
JUST NOT THE SAME PROPERTY
RIGHT NOW AND THE MESS IT JUST
TAKES AWAY FROM THE EXPERIENCE
OUT THERE.RILEY SAYS THE
CLEANUP WILL LIKELY CONTINUE
THROUGH SPRING.75 PERCENT OF
THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO BE
RE-IMBURSED BY FEMA - BUT THE
TOWN IS BEING CAUTIOUS.THEY'LL
PAY YOU BUT THEN THEY'VE GOT
10 YEARS TO COME BACK AND
AUDIT AND CHALLENGE SOME OF
WHAT THEY'VE ALREADY PAID, SO
THIS WILL GO ON FOR MORE TIME
THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE.THE
TOWN IS HOPING THE áSTATE WILL
HELP WITH SOME OF THE
REMAINING 25 PERCENT.FOR NOW -
CREWS CONTINUE TO WORK -
MAKING SURE THEY REPORT áALL
THOSE TONS OF DEBRIS, TO LATER
TURN IN TO FEMA.TO MAKE SURE
THAT WE HAVE THE CORRECT
QUANTITIES AND ALL THAT IS
TAKEN CARE OF IN A PROPER
MANNER.LL: OF COURSE THESE
CREWS SAY THERE'S STILL A LOT
OF WORK LEFT TO DO HERE ON
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THEY SAY
THEY'RE GOING TO STAY UNTIL
THAT DEBRIS COLLECTION GETS
BACK TO NORMAL.REPORTING FROM
HILTON HEAD ISLAND AMANDA
FOSTER WJCL 22 NEWS.

Two months after Hurricane Matthew tore through Hilton Head Island, the debris cleanup effort is far from over.

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Private contractor Crowder-Gulf say enough debris has been picked up - more than one million cubic yards - to fill Madison Square Garden three times.

It's all being brought to one of two multi-acre pieces of land on the island to be ground down and hauled off of the island.

"It has to be processed very quickly, and move out quickly," Barrett Holmes of Crowder-Gulf says.

He says the debris all goes to different places - to be used as lumber, or to make things like paper and cardboard products.

The contractor was hired by the town years ago in preparation for a large storm like Matthew, and crews have been working nonstop since the day after the storm came through.

Though the plan has been in place for years, this is the first time it has been used.

"We got everything in place just for an event like this," Holmes says.

Town Manager Steve Riley says an advantage of that plan has been having that contractor in place.

Still, the plan is showing some weak spots. The town did not account for the fact that the contractor would be sharing land with the Coastal Discovery Museum for months on end - land that is now covered in tree stumps and wood chips.

"You know, the state is going to lose a lot of revenue," Riley says. "It's just not the same property right now, and the mess, it just takes away from the experience out there."

Riley says the cleanup will likely continue through spring.

75 percent of the debris cleanup project is expected to be reimbursed by FEMA, but the town is being cautious.

"They'll pay you, but then they've got 10 years to come back and audit and challenge some of what they've already paid," Riley says. "So this will go on for more time than most people realize."

The town is hoping the state will help with some of the remaining 25 percent.

For now, crews continue to work, making sure all those tons of debris are accounted for, to later report to FEMA.

"To make sure that we have the correct quantities and all that is taken care of in a proper manner," Holmes says.

Crews say even after already hauling in more than one million cubic yards of debris off the island, they are only about half way done. Crowder-Gulf plans on staying until debris collection can return back to what it was before the storm.